Related concepts: subject, distinction, form, organization, uncertainty, risk. Separately: why a goal does not create an obligation.
Ontological Definition
A goal is a representation of a possible result, identified and fixed by a subject, in relation to which action can be directed.
A goal is not the future result itself. It exists now as a distinguished and fixed form of a possible state.
The subject distinguishes:
- the existing state of affairs;
- a possible alternative state of affairs;
- the significance of the transition between them.
When a possible state of affairs is fixed as a reference point for action, a goal arises.
subject
→ distinction between the existing and the possible
→ identification of a possible result
→ fixing the result as a reference point
→ goal
Goal as Form
A goal is a form because it fixes the distinction between a certain state and another state identified as a possible result.
For example:
cargo is in city A
→ cargo could be in city B
→ the state "cargo delivered to city B" is fixed as a goal
A goal maintains a point of distinction relative to which actions can acquire direction. It makes it possible to distinguish:
- approaching and moving away;
- conformity and nonconformity of a result;
- what is relevant and irrelevant to the chosen direction;
- what is completed and incomplete relative to the specified form.
All these distinctions exist in relation to the goal. They are not properties of reality outside the boundary drawn by the subject.
A Goal Is Not a Result
A goal and a result belong to different ontological levels.
Goal: a fixed representation of a possible result.
Result: a state that has arisen as a consequence of actions and events that have occurred.
goal = form of a possible result
result = state that has actually come about
A result may coincide with the goal, correspond to it partially, or differ from it. A state may also arise that was not anticipated by the goal at all.
Therefore, a goal does not contain the future within itself. It contains only a distinguished representation of a possible future state.
Goal and Action
A goal does not act on its own.
It can provide direction for action only through the subject who maintains it, relates what is happening to it, and makes decisions.
goal → distinguished by the subject → influences the choice of action → possible result
A goal can participate in a causal chain: changing the subject’s attention, choice of route, allocation of resources, and sequence of actions. But such participation does not turn a goal into an independent agent.
The direction of action in relation to a goal is created and maintained by the subject.
Goal and Risk
Risk does not exist in itself. It exists in relation to a goal.
Uncertainty means that a multiplicity of possible future states remains open. A goal allows the subject to distinguish these states in relation to the goal: those that contribute to its achievement, those that obstruct it, and those that have no identified relation to it.
Risk is the possibility of a future state distinguished by the subject, which the subject at that moment distinguishes as obstructing the achievement of their goal.
Without a goal, risk does not exist: the same possible state is a risk for one goal, favorable for another, and of undetermined significance for a third.
The evaluation of a state relative to a goal may change: the goal itself may have changed, new information may have appeared, or other consequences may have been revealed. Therefore, the distinction of risk is bound to a particular moment. “At that moment” is not a qualification but part of the structure of the distinction (see risk and uncertainty).
A goal may be embedded and left unspoken. “Risk to safety” implies a hidden goal of “preserving the subject”: preserving one’s own existence is a condition for other goals, so a threat to that existence becomes a risk for an enormous number of goals at once (see risk, “Safety as a Hidden Goal”).
Goal, Desire, and Intention
These concepts are connected but not identical.
Desire
Desire expresses an attraction toward a certain state or experience.
What is desired is not necessarily fixed as a result in relation to which action will be organized. A person may desire what is impossible or indeterminate, or may have no intention of taking any action.
Intention
Intention expresses the subject’s orientation toward performing an action.
A goal answers the question:
What result has been identified?
Intention answers the question:
Is the subject going to act in relation to that result?
A goal can exist without a present intention to act, and an intention can be directed toward an action without a clearly formulated goal.
Goal
A goal fixes a possible result as a reference point relative to which actions can be directed and results can be distinguished.
In brief:
desire = attraction toward a state
goal = fixing a possible result
intention = the subject's orientation toward action
Goal, Task, and Plan
A goal does not automatically contain either a route or a specific action.
Task identifies an action or intermediate result that is intended to be accomplished.
Plan connects actions into an anticipated sequence of transitions.
Goal specifies the result in relation to which a task and plan acquire direction.
goal → what result has been identified
task → what needs to be done
plan → in what sequence action is intended to proceed
One goal can allow for different tasks and plans. The same plan can be used in relation to different goals.
Goal and Organization
A goal logically precedes organization as a goal-oriented form of action.
subject
→ goal
→ linking actions, relationships, and means
→ organization
→ possible result
Organization is created by a subject or subjects to move toward a fixed result. The goal provides the basis for constructing an organizational form, but does not create that form itself.
Goal and Objective
The English words goal and objective are often used as synonyms. Different approaches to management distinguish them in different ways, so the use of different words does not in itself prove the existence of two different ontological entities.
Within this document, they denote neither two different entities nor necessarily two successive stages. They are two relationships involving one and the same goal.
Goal is a goal in relation to the subject who maintains it as a reference point for action.
Objective is the same goal in relation to the activity organized by the subject, within which it occupies the position of an intended result.
The same goal can be distinguished simultaneously in both relationships:
Goal(goal, subject)
Objective(goal, subject, organized activity)
For example, the goal “release the first version of a product” is a Goal because the subject has fixed a possible result as a reference point. The same goal is an Objective because the subject has placed it within organized activity, where functions, actions, means, and conditions are connected in relation to it.
The goal itself undergoes no ontological transformation. What changes is the relationship in which it is considered:
goal
/ \
/ \
in relation to subject: Goal Objective :in relation to organized activity
The sequence Goal → Objective is permissible as a description of how the relationship arises:
the subject distinguishes a possible result
→ maintains the goal as a Goal
→ organizes activity in relation to the goal
→ the same goal occupies the position of an Objective within the created form
But this sequence does not mean that the Goal disappears or turns into another entity. The goal remains a Goal in relation to the subject and is simultaneously distinguished by that subject as an Objective in relation to organized activity.
When a goal occupies the position of an Objective, the subject can connect to it:
- actions;
- functions;
- means and resources;
- conditions;
- roles and responsible subjects;
- boundaries of applicability;
- criteria for recognizing the result;
- deadlines and indicators, where necessary.
It is not the Objective that independently determines the necessary functions and actions. The subject, maintaining the goal as an Objective, distinguishes the functions and actions that they consider necessary or suitable for achieving it.
An Objective is not necessarily measurable in itself. Measurability emerges when the subject or organization adds indicators and rules for verification. Therefore, the following must not be automatically equated:
Objective ≠ indicator
Objective ≠ Key Result
Objective ≠ task
An indicator provides evidence about the state relative to a goal. A Key Result specifies a distinguished result used to assess progress or achievement. A task identifies an action or intermediate result. The subject connects all of these to the goal within an organizational form, maintaining it as an Objective.
Consequently, Objective is not a new kind of entity but a relationship between a goal and activity organized by a subject:
Goal denotes the relationship between a goal and a subject. Objective denotes the relationship between the same goal and activity organized by that subject.
Someone Else’s Goal and an Adopted Goal
Another subject or an organization may present a person with a ready-made goal. But the existence of such a form does not yet mean that it has become that person’s own goal.
For one subject, a certain state of affairs may be a goal, while for another it may be a demand, an order, a proposal, an expectation, or merely information about someone else’s intention.
Someone else’s goal becomes the subject’s goal only when that subject begins to maintain the corresponding result as a reference point for their own action. Until then, it remains a form created by another subject.
A Goal Does Not Create Necessity
The existence of a goal does not imply:
- that it will be achieved;
- that the subject is obliged to pursue it;
- that action must continue;
- that changing or abandoning the goal is a mistake;
- that reality is obliged to conform to the fixed result.
A goal identifies what is possible but does not turn it into what is necessary.
goal exists ≠ result will occur
goal exists ≠ goal must be achieved
This normative substitution is examined in detail in “A Goal Does Not Create an Obligation”.
Changing and Abandoning a Goal
Because a goal is a form, the subject can:
- reconsider it;
- refine it;
- replace it;
- postpone it;
- cease to maintain it;
- abandon it.
Changing a goal means changing the distinguished result in relation to which action was directed. The disappearance of a goal does not undo events that have already occurred, but it removes the previous basis for their further organization.
Final Formulation
Full definition:
A goal is a form of a possible result, created and maintained by a subject, in relation to which that subject can direct actions and distinguish changes as they occur.
Short definition:
A goal is a fixed possible result serving as a reference point for action.
